Age of Exploration- The Explorers A map from 1503 that shows the known lands of the time Discovery Ed Video: The New World Encountered

The Portuguese Explorers Henry the Navigator In the early 1400s, he established a shipbuilding and navigation school in Portugal His students learned how to build and steer ships The caravel was a medium-sized ship that was faster and easier to navigate than other ships of the time Henry also taught his students how to use a compass and the position of stars to figure out their location and which direction they were going Discovery Ed Video: The Portuguese Explorers

Bartolomeu Dias From Portugal, he was student of Henry the Navigator He became the first European to sail around the tip of Africa and reach the Indian Ocean in 1488 Europeans now realized it was possible to reach India by sea

Christopher Columbus From Italy Convinced the Queen Isabella of Spain that he could reach India by sailing to the west Many people believed the world was flat and he would sail off the edge! Landed in the Bahamas in 1492, becoming the first European to reach the Americas Flag of Spain in 1490

The voyages of Christopher Columbus (1492-1503)

Christopher Columbus Traveled with three ships: The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria When Columbus landed in the Bahamas, he believed he had reached India He called the locals “Indians”

John Cabot Italian explorer who sailed for the king of England First European explorer to reach the mainland of North America in 1497 Took a route further north than other explorers, reached Canada

Cabot’s Voyage in 1497

Vasco de Gama Portuguese explorer The first explorer to reach India by sea in 1498 Sailed around Africa His journey helped expand trading between Europe and Asia

Amerigo Vespucci Italian explorer He led several expeditions that reached North and South America starting in 1499 Vespucci realized that he was not in India, but instead had reached a new continent This is where the name “America” comes from

Amerigo Vespucci’s Expeditions (1499-1502)

Ferdinand Magellan A Portuguese explorer, sailed for the king of Spain He is known for leading the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe Circumnavigate means he went all the way around the world He was killed in 1521 in the Battle of Mactan against a local tribe in the Philippines His crew returned back to Spain in 1522

Magellan’s Voyage (the first voyage to circle the globe)

Juan Ponce de Leon Spanish explorer He was part of Christopher Columbus’ crew He became the first governor of Puerto Rico in 1509 In 1513, he reached the coast of Florida and became the first European explorer to reach the mainland of present-day U.S. He also discovered the Gulf Stream current

Expedition of Ponce de Leon to Florida in 1513

Giovanni de Verrazano Explorer from Florence, Italy In 1524, he led an expedition along the east coast of present-day United States He was the first European to explore the outer banks of North Carolina and New York Bay

Giovanni de Verrazano Expedition in 1524 Today, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge connects Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City

Francisco Coronado Spanish explorer In 1535, he arrived in New Spain (Mexico) In 1540, he led an expedition to explore the lands to north of New Spain Present-day Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas He was the first European to see the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon

Francisco Coronado’s Expedition (1540-1542)